


Thanks to My Art Teacher

by happilysurviving (orphan_account)



Series: Frerard One Shots [1]
Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Frerard, High School AU, M/M, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-25
Updated: 2015-09-25
Packaged: 2018-04-23 08:33:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4870244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/happilysurviving
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Art is Frank's favorite class, and for more than one reason as well. Yes, he loves to draw and paint and take his pictures but an even larger reason he enjoys it is because of a certain classmate. One who he will finally approach today, Valentine's Day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Thanks to My Art Teacher

It’s Valentine’s Day and I’m a hopeless romantic. As in chocolate and roses and polite kisses on the hand before we sit down for an expensive Italian dinner with only one candle slowly dripping wax on the cloth tablecloth lighting our faces. And so you can probably guess that today is the time when I take out all my tricks, everything up my sleeve, every romantic line I’ve ever heard ready to flow off my tongue. And well that’s almost how it is. The thing is that I’m an eighteen year old loser with a crush bigger than myself on my next door neighbor and art partner who is more gorgeous than anything he’s ever drawn.

And now as I sit in the cafeteria staring at him across the open area over the unbitten peanut butter and fluff sandwich in my hands I can’t help but feel my heart flutter in my chest. I’m sat alone as always by choice not that I have that many people who would really consider themselves my friends. And besides even if there were more than three people who would offer to have me come over after school they wouldn’t be sitting with me today anyway as everyone else in the whole school seems to be asking the people they crave to go to the dance tonight. So luckily no one is calling me out on my drooling over the black haired boy in the corner.

I’m finally snapped out of my daze when he gets up and walks over to the garbage to throw away his Styrofoam tray and I take a bite out of my sandwich, not wanting to be completely starving later. He turns away from the large black trashcan and back to his table as the bell rings at an ear splitting volume signaling that it’s the last class of the day. I groan and throw my sandwich back down into the little box I brought it in and shove it in my dark red backpack. How appropriate is it that my bag is the color of love and I’m hopeless when it comes to initiating any type of relationship.

I start to walk out of the cafeteria, past the lunch ladies who are whispering to each other in the corner and rolling their eyes at all the terrible dance invitations that the guys probably whipped up just this morning and toward the art block, trying to keep myself from puking up everything I ate this morning and the small amount of food I had during the short lunch period.

Once I’m there I turn to the left of the hallway and peek into the smallest classroom. I see the teacher sat at her drawing desk bent over her latest piece of depressing beauty and then there’s Alyssa smiling at her phone which I’m guessing is displaying her tumblr dashboard as she always seems to either be drawing or scrolling. I don’t see any sign of the black haired teenager in the room yet so I quickly scurry in, keeping my head down so I won’t draw any attention to myself.

But of course that fails.

“Hello, Frank. How are you today?” Mrs. Ray asks, looking up from her drawing of a woman fighting her way out of a coffin. The teacher smiles up at me sweetly, flipping her long red hair behind her shoulder with her hand casually.

“I’m okay, how’re you?” I lie with a weak smile.

“That’s good, I wish you luck with you know who.” She says, winking at me. I blow my hair up and rub the back of my neck. “He’ll say yes, he really likes you even if you can’t realize that.”

“Yeah, we’ll see.”

I told her about my plan to ask Gerard to the dance last week when I stayed after school to finish my Polaroid collage. She had absolutely flipped, telling me how she’d been dying to try to get us together.

“Oh Frank, this is great! I mean Gerard has been staring at you almost constantly over the past couple of weeks, oh my god you have to do it during class. I can’t miss this.” She’d squealed, grabbing Frank’s wrists and jumping up and down excitedly like a teenage girl who’d just found out that One Direction was coming to her city.

“Okay I will if you stop that.” Frank had laughed and shook his head as the thirty year old woman settled herself down.

I’m brought back out of my thoughts by Mrs. Ray tapping her pencil against my elbow and telling me to take a seat next to a now seated Gerard. I smile nervously at her and bite my lip while walking over to him. I drop my backpack down on the art table, making him look up at me and the butterflies erupt in my stomach. I unzip the front pocket and pull out my folder full of photos I took last weekend at a carnival outside of town.

Gerard slips his latest piece of comic genius onto the table in front of him and I look over at it. There’s a rough sketch of a woman holding a long staff that reaches down to the ground on the white sheet of paper. There are buildings crumbling around her and the words “Feminism Doesn’t Rest” at the top. I smile and sit down next to him, our chairs touching at the sides.

The only other student walks in through the classroom door and makes her way to sit next to Alyssa, her blond hair up in a bun and green dress swishing around her waist. The freshmen look at each other and break into smiles as Amy sits down at the table.

“Hey Frankie.” I hear a quiet voice say beside me and I look over to see Gerard lightly tracing the face of his comic book character.

“Hi Gee. How are you on this fine Valentine’s Day?” I ask him with a smile and he looks up at me, his brown eyes widened and lips parted. He quickly shakes his head and a grin grows on his face at the same time as a blush.

“Oh I’m alright, lonely just like every other year but yah know.” Gee laughs softly and looks back down at his drawing, the blush on his cheeks painfully obvious.

“Yeah me too, you’re still going to the dance though right?” I ask him, holding my breath as I await his answer. If he isn’t going then I obviously can’t ask him to be my date.

“Yeah, I figured I would find a date by now so I bought mine last month. But of course I still don’t but I do have my tux and stuff…” Gerard trails off and I just look at him. Stare at his small pink lips and pale skin and greasy black hair that he really needs to wash but I still think is incredibly attractive. He bites his beautiful bottom lip and looks up at me with his brown eyes that I practically drown in every time I see them.

“That’s what I did too, I have my outfit and all just no date. I’m thinking about just taking my dog at this point.” Gerard laughs at that and I sneakily reach into my backpack and grab the piece of paper, pulling it out and standing up. The black haired boy looks up at me and I nervously hold it in front of me. “Unless of course you’d be willing to go with me.”

Gerard smiles widely and his whole face scrunches up unlike I’ve ever seen it do. He looks at the painting I’d been working on for the past month of him. Him dressed up in a red shirt and black striped tie with “will you be my valentine?” written across his blank face instead of his features. I smile at him and hear Alyssa and Amy squealing to the left of me and Mrs. Ray stomping her feet on the ground.

“Of course I’m willing you idiot.” Gee says, standing up and running over to me. I put the painting down on the table and reach my arms out to him letting him wrap his arms around my waist as our teacher cheers in the background.

And in that moment nothing matters in the slightest as his breath flows warmly down my neck and I can feel his heartbeat against his chest. The homophobic classmates don’t matter. The flaws in their hopefully soon to be relationship not at all. Not even how I’m going to be meeting Gerard’s parents when I pick him up for dinner and the dance. Nothing matters as long as he’s in my arms. Not as long as Gerard Way is held close to me. 

~~~~~

I pull at the short black hairs at the back of my head as I sit on my bed in my black skinny jeans, staring down at my arm with Gerard’s phone number written on the inside in black sharpie. I run the pad of my pointer finger over it and a huge grin makes its way onto my face.

Gerard Way gave me his phone number, his actual real life phone number. All seven numbers scribbled across my pale skin from just an hour ago. And I don’t know if I’ve ever been so happy, at least I certainly haven’t in a long time.

I reach for my phone and open it to reveal a picture of the Misfits logo before entering the phone number under Gee, biting my lip to try to minimize the size of my smile.

Hey, what’s the address I need to pick you up at? I quickly type and send out to the black haired boy, setting the device down next to me on my Batman comic strip quilt. Deciding to just start getting ready for tonight, I push myself up off the bed lazily. I move over to the outfit hanging on the hook on the back of my door and scan my eyes over it. I decided that I really wanted to look nice tonight to impress Gerard so I have a pair of black dress pants, a dark red button up, black tie with skulls scattered across it, and a black blazer ready to put on.

I reach out and feel the smooth fabric of the blazer between my fingers and grab the outfit off the door. I turn around to throw the clothes down on the bed and see my phone light up to say I got a text and can’t help but rush over to it like a twelve year old schoolgirl whose crush has just texted them back for the first time after giving them her number. I open it and see that the message is in fact from my schoolgirl crush.

13 Sycamore Drive. What time will you be over?

I grab a post it from off my cluttered bedside table and write down the address with a stub of a pencil that I was using to unsuccessfully do my calculus homework with earlier.

Awesome. I was thinking seven cuz I wanna take you for dinner and then the dance starts at nine.

I blow out a breath after sending this next message and looking over at my digital clock, noticing that it’s still only 4:30 and I just want time to speed up and I seriously doubt putting all my shit on now will make that happen but it’s not like it will hurt.

Oh yeah sure. Thank you so much for this Frankie. You really don’t have to take me to dinner you know.

I feel a blush grow over my cheeks at the name he calls me and shake my head with my lips sucked into my mouth to try to keep my smile small enough to make me not look completely insane.

Believe me Gee. I want to. You deserve it. I’ll see you then.

Throwing my phone down again, I pick up my outfit carefully so it won’t wrinkle and walk out of my dark bedroom and across the hall to the bathroom. I flip the light switch and look at myself in the mirror, laying everything across the counter and closing the door. I pull my shirt off and throw it down next to me, ruffling my hair afterward and grinning like an idiot when it falls into my eyes and I see my ridiculous reflection. I growl and laugh at myself before peeling my tight jeans of my legs and kicking them off onto my discarded Blink-182 t shirt.

Looking up at myself in the mirror, at my pale plain body that I can’t wait to cover with tattoos once I turn eighteen next year, I think about how remarkable it is that Gerard fucking Way likes me. He actually likes scrawny little me enough to go to the Valentine’s Day dance with me as a gay couple, enough to deal with the inevitable taunting when I hold his hand. I reach my hands up so they’re grasping my shoulders next to my neck and let out a long breath, my lips pulling up into a smile yet again all because of one black haired artist who I really do believe I’m in love with.

I unclasp my hands and reach down to pull my slacks on my short legs with considerably less struggle than it took me to put my skinny jeans this morning. Once they’re on I pull my black leather belt through the loops and smooth down the manufactured creases with my palms.

As I think about the dinner reservations I made for two at one of my favorite restaurants a half hour ago I grab my red shirt and undo the top button to pull it over my shoulders, the fabric feeling cool against my skin. I button up my shirt and decide against tucking it in, just flipping the collar up and slipping my tie around my neck but not tying it yet.

I lean over and gather all my old clothes in my arms, leaving my blazer on the counter for now. I’ll just get it when I have to leave in two hours. I walk back to my bedroom and throw the contents of my arms into the overflowing hamper in the corner of my room before flopping onto my back on my bed. I stare up at the posters on the ceiling all taped messily with small rips in them or in the case of my largest Blink-182 one, a piece of duct tape straight down the middle to keep it together. I pick up my phone again and see that Gerard had responded to my last text.

Can’t wait x

I feel my heart skip a beat and my smile reappear before getting up to walk toward my bookcase quickly. I reach into the corner next to it and grab the neck of one of my guitars, Pansy, pulling her out. I happily swing the strap around my neck and start to finger familiar chords, mouthing the words to a song I wrote a few weeks ago.

“Well when you go,” I sing softly, strumming the chords out lightly, my mouth screwed up in concentration. I’ve been trying to perfect this part for at least two months, loving the sound of it when I asked my friend Ray to play it out for me being more experienced than I am with the instrument. I only picked up an electric guitar two years ago while he’s been playing since he was eight. “Don’t ever think I’ll make you try to stay.”

An hour and a half and possibly a hundred profanities later I set Pansy back in the corner of my room, satisfied with my progress and knowing that it’s time to drive over to pick up Gerard. I feel my stomach flip over and over as I pick up my phone and keys shove them in my pocket and make my way over to the bathroom.

I quickly grab my blazer and pull it on, the small shoulder pads making my shoulders look broader and more masculine than normal. I look at myself in the mirror quickly, fixing my dyed black fringe so it’s sweeping across my forehead and curling just the slightest bit at the end next to my right eye. Happy with my appearance, I head out the door and downstairs to find my mom sat on the couch watching Edward Scissorhands, a movie that both of us absolutely love.

She looks over at me and squeals, covering her mouth with her hands.

“Oh Frank you look amazing!” She quickly pauses the movie and jumps up to pull me into a rough hug. “I’m so happy for you!” She shakes our bodies and I laugh and roll my eyes at her. She suddenly releases me, only her hands on my shoulders. “Now I just need a few pictures before you go and pick up your date who you’ve been obsessing over for the past two years. Honestly I’m just glad that you’re finally going on a date with him so you can stop complaining about him not noticing you.”

“Hey.” I whine, jokingly slapping her shoulder lightly. “Let’s do it then, I don’t really have any more time.”

“Awesome.” She claps her hands and runs over to grab her phone off the cushy black sofa. I walk over to stand in front of the door and shove my hands in my pants pockets as she gets her phone camera ready. “Alright, smile!”

I smirk and lean against the door a bit as she snaps pictures, commenting on my shirt not being tucked which makes me blush slightly and how my hair looks good. She’s honestly my favorite person, raising me after my dad left when I was so young. She’s been such a kind and understanding person and I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better person to take care of me.

“Thanks Mom. I really have to go now.” I tell her, laughing under my breath and walking up to her and kissing her cheek. “I’ll be back for midnight.”

“Okay dear.” She says with a smile as I walk away and open the door. “Don’t forget to wear a condom, don’t want you catching any STDs!”

“Mom!” I screech and she giggles, walking back to the couch.

“Have fun sweetheart.”

I roll my eyes and leave the house, closing the door behind me. After taking them out of my pocket I twirl my key ring around my pointer finger, a grin lifting the corners of my lips. Once I’m at the door I unlock the old silver Subaru that I can imagine anyone else in my school would be embarrassed about driving but I just don’t give a shit.

Jumping in, I turn jam the key in the ignition and turn it a couple times to make the vehicle finally start. I turn on the radio to my favorite station: 97.4, the only one that actually plays good music in most likely all of New Jersey and pull out my phone to punch in Gerard’s address.

The GPS starts directing me out of my driveway and toward the middle of town once it’s in. I back out carefully and start down the road slowly. I’ve been a cautious driver since the day that my mother got in a car accident and almost died because of it. I had been terrified to lose her so I won’t let her lose me.

It takes me ten minutes to get to Gee’s house, making me three minutes late and quite ashamed of myself. I pull the keys out and stuff them in my pocket along with my phone before quickly checking my hair in the rear view mirror, fidgeting with it nervously. It takes me at least a minute to calm down enough to grab the one thing that I made myself put in the car right once I got home so I wouldn’t forget it: my Polaroid.

I’ve loved to take pictures ever since I was little, always stealing my mom’s little disposable cameras that she would buy at Walmart or the red flip phone she kept in her purse despite almost never using it. I had decided to save up for an actual camera at ten and so I did odd jobs at home, got an under the table job at the comic book store, anything I could to finally be able to take professional pictures.

It took me about two years but I was finally able to afford my Polaroid and three rolls of film that I treasured more than anything. I’ve kept one of the rolls on the top of my dresser since then, just buying new rolls whenever I needed them. I don’t really know why I decided to do that in the first place but by now it’s gained significance; it’s become one of the most special things to me. And now I’m using it for Gerard.

I get out of the car with the camera tight in my grip and close the door gently, making my way to the front door of the dark green house. I loosen my tie slightly as I feel it start to choke me, or maybe it’s just the nerves. Once I’m at the door I gulp and knock, scared but ready to meet Gerard’s parents.

Half a minute later a woman with long brown hair opens the door with a small smile. I smile back at her nervously as she swings it farther open to reveal a tall man next to her a buzz cut.

“Hello, you must be Frank.” She says warmly. I gulp again.

“Uh, yeah. Yeah that’s me.”

God that was smooth wasn’t it?

“Well it’s very nice to meet you, come in.” She ushers me in and closes the door as I walk into what I assume is the living room with a white couch and armchair, both stained with what looks like coffee. “Please sit.”

“Oh, okay.” I choke out, wiping my sweaty palms on the front of my pants as I take a seat on the couch. Gerard’s dad sits in the armchair while his mother sits a foot away from me on the couch. He looks at me in not really a cold way but not warmly as if he’s inspecting me while she just continues to smile at me, hands in her lap.

“Well let me introduce myself. I’m Donna,” She gestures over at her husband. “And that’s Donald.” I raise my eyebrows. “Yes, do laugh at our names. Everyone does.”

After a moment of deciding whether she actually meant I could I let out a small laugh, a genuine smile on my lips.

“Oh Gerard’s brother is in the other room too. Mikey!” She calls, turning her head toward the open doorway behind her. A minute later a tall teenager with a gray beanie, blond hair sticking out from under it and a bass hanging from the strap around his neck walks into the room. He looks over at me quietly and then over at his mother. “This is Frank, Gerard’s date to the dance. Say hi.”

“Uh hey.” Mikey mumbles, only let his eyes flit up to mine for a moment before busying his hands with fingering out chords on his instrument.

“Hey. You play bass? That’s awesome.” I tell him with a small smile. He looks up at me and smiles back at me hesitantly.

“Yeah, do you?”

“No, I play guitar.” He raises his eyebrows at me.

“Acoustic or electric?”

“Electric.”

“Cool.” He gives me a real smile and turns to his mother. “Can I go practice now?”

“Yes Michael.” She smirks at him and I hear her husband let out a quiet laugh to my left.

“Ugh Mom!” He moans, already making his way to the doorway he came from. “Don’t call me that.”

“Mikey I named you! I can call you whatever I want!” She yells to him, laughing at her son and probably herself as well and then turns to me. “I’m impressed Frank, he doesn’t talk to a lot of people. Seems like he likes you.”

“Thanks. I hope so.” I say, wringing my hands in my lap.

“Don’t worry dear,” She gives me another smile. “We all like you, especially Gerard.” She laughs as I feel a blush grow on my cheeks. “Oh you’re adorable I see why he chose you. Don’t you agree Don?”

“Yeah, you seem like a good kid.” I let out a sigh of relief as my date’s father approves of me, this hasn’t gone as badly as I expected so far.

“I agree.” Donna reaches out and lays her hand on my shoulder comfortingly. “There’s no reason to be nervous. Honestly we’re just glad you aren’t a drug-dealing slut. Believe me, we’re both very impressed by you.”

“Thank you ma’am.” I say, nodding my head at her in gratitude as I hear someone come down and jump off the stairs behind me.

“Hey Mom do I look okay? I don’t wanna disappoint Fr-“ Gerard yells, not noticing me for a moment but then turns bright red. I start grinning when I see him dressed in a full black suit with a plum shirt and black and white striped tie in the doorway. “Oh hey Frank, h-how are you?”

“I’m great.” I say, standing up and walking over to him. “And you should know that you aren’t physically able to disappoint me, Gee.”

“Oh-uh thanks.” He mumbles, turning an even darker red and looking down at the ground. I take his hand and place a kiss on the back of it, making him look up at my shyly through his hair.

“Aw oh my gosh he’s so cute oh my god you made him blush! Gerard you chose right oh my god!” I turn and see Gerard’s mother squealing behind me with a smile larger than the sun.

“Mom,” Gee whines behind me. “You’re embarrassing me.”

“Don’t worry dear, I don’t think he cares.” She says back to him with another giggle.

“She’s right. I don’t.” I tell Gerard after turning back around to take his hand in mine, brushing my thumb across the back of it. “Now may I take a picture?”

“Oh y-yeah, sure you can.” He stutters, obviously nervous.

“Awesome.” I walk over to the couch, dropping his hand and grab my Polaroid with a small smile. I turn back around afterwards to see the boy standing a few feet behind me staring at it.

“Is that yours?” He asks. “The one you use for your projects?”

“Yep. And I also have a very special roll of film just for tonight.” I tell him, opening the camera and showing it to him. “Now would you be willing to stand in front of that window? I think that would have the perfect effect, good lighting from the side and everything.” I ask him, closing the camera as he walks to the requested spot.

He stands in the window, the fleeting sunset illuminating his I’m guessing newly washed hair and creating shadows that highlight his cheekbones gorgeously. His pale skin shines in the room and I shake my head slowly, taking in his beauty.

“Can you hold one arm across your stomach and the other holding your opposite shoulder like this?” I ask him, modeling for him, camera in the hand that I should have held onto my waist.

“Uh okay,” He copies me but doesn’t hold onto his waist. “Like this?”

“Yeah just have your hand kinda grab you side,” He does as I say, looking at me with his hair just barely covering his right eye. “Yeah, just like that. Now don’t move.”

I lift up my camera and stare through the hole, aiming it so he’s perfectly in center and the shadows on his face don’t block either of his eyes. And as the flash goes off and the picture rolls out of the front all I can think about is how beautiful he is.

“Perfect.” I pull the photo out of the camera and set it down on a table behind the couch to develop. I look up from it to see Donna smiling at me and I blush a little.

“Frank, would you like me to take a picture of you two?” She asks me, pushing herself up from the couch.

“Oh yes, that would be nice thank you.” I say, passing it to her carefully. “Just look through that hole at the top and press the button next to it to take the picture. You need to hold it still until the flash ends or the photo will end up blurry. Sorry, I’m blabbing it’s just that I don’t want to take more than one more photo with this film, it’s just kind of special and I want to be able to still have most of it after tonight for stuff like my wedding and first child and just sorry, take the camera.”

I blush and walk over to Gerard, making him smile at me.

“That sounds adorable, Frankie.” He tells me quietly, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me into his side. I look up at him with a smile and suddenly see a flash go off to my right as he looks down and into my eyes. Once the flash ends I look down with my bright red cheeks and I feel him press his lips to the top of my head lightly. I shuffle away from him, avoiding eye contact and take the camera with the photo still in the front out of his mother’s hands.

“Thank you.” She smiles at me as I pull it out and place it next to the one of Gee. “Now I think we should really get going so we can eat and get to the dance on time. But really thank you so much for your hospitality, you’ve been so kind.”

“Oh please, no need to thank us. Besides, you seem to be much kinder to Gerard, which is all that matters.” Donna tells me before pulling me into a warm hug that I accept after a moment before pulling away from her and her fruity perfume.

“Well I’m honored to be going with him to the dance.” I tell her, turning to Gerard and taking his hand, our fingers intertwined. “I’ll take the Polaroids when I come back to drop him off.”

I walk out the door and Gee closes it behind us as both my hands are occupied. We walk out to my car silently, just the crunch of the gravel walkway underneath our feet making the slightest bit of sound. I take my hand out of his to unlock the car door and then press the unlock button, jumping in as Gerard opens the other front door. I place my camera in the back seat and turn back to see him staring at me with a grin on his face.

“What’s the smile for, Gee?” I ask him, taking his left hand again.

“I’m going to the dance with you.” He says quietly, his cheeks turning red again. “It’s actually happening.”

“Of course it is, babe.” I say, squeezing his hand and feeling my heart flip as he squeezes back.

“It’s just I’ve liked you forever so… this is just amazing to me.”

“Aw Gee, I’ve felt the same way about you. I’m just as amazed that you said yes to me.”

“Oh, thanks.” I smile and drop his hand again to turn on the car, this time only taking two turns to start. “And please continue to call me babe. I like it when you call me that.”

I turn to back out of his driveway and look at him in the process.

“Sure, babe.”

After a twenty minute car ride when I held Gerard’s hand and steered with one hand the whole time we’ve arrived at Rodriguez Cantina.

“So I know it’s not really fancy or anything but I’ve always gone here on special occasions with my family so I figured it would be cool.” I tell Gerard hoping he’ll be okay with it.

“Awesome, let’s go.” He says, seeming to not even think about it before popping his door open. I smile and open mine, getting out and walking to the front of the adobe building. I open the door for him and watch as he walks in and up to the podium a smiling Hispanic girl is standing behind with menus in her arms.

“Hello, how are you today gentleman?” She asks, looking from Gerard to me, her smile turning into a full grin once her eyes find mine. “Oh, Frank! How are you? I saw your last name in the reservation book earlier, is your family coming later?”

She walks around the wooden podium and wraps her arms around my neck in a soft hug. I place my hands on her back until she pulls away and then give her a small smile.

“Actually no, Medina. I’m here with Gerard for dinner before we go to the Valentine Dance.” I tilt my head over toward the blushing eighteen year old.

“Oh I see,” She says, grabbing two menus and starting to walk toward the dining area. “He seems your type, I hope you have fun tonight.”

She places the menus down across from each other at a small two-person booth and Gee and I slip in. I give her one more smile before she walks away from us and I take my blazer off and set it down next to me on the red vinyl seat. Gerard does the same and I face him, setting my hands on the table, tapping my fingers against it. He straightens up after a moment, having removed his jacket and starts blushing once he realizes he’s under my gaze.

I reach across the table and take his hand in mine, rubbing the back of it with my thumb gently. “So how are you doing, Gee?”

“I’m great, Frankie. How about you?” He smirks and winks at me, making my face turn the same color as his.

“I’m fantastic. So you do like Mexican food, right?”

“Yeah, it’s awesome. Mikey and I get it sometimes when we’re home alone for a night. I don’t think we’ve ever ordered from here before though.” He says, a smile appearing on his face at the mention of his brother.

“So I’m guessing you and your brother are pretty close.”

“Yeah,” He furrows his eyebrows. “How’d you figure that out? I never talk about him in class or anything, do I?”

“Yeah you don’t. It’s just that you smiled when you said his name and I’m not one to assume incest.”

He laughs at that and I smile.

“That’s good. I don’t tend to expect incest either.”

An older man with white hair and glasses on his tanned Hispanic face walks up to our table with an order pad and looks at me.

“Hello Frank, would you and your date like to tell me your drink orders?” He asks, his old eyes crinkling with his smile.

“Oh yeah, we’ll have two lime Jarritos. Gracias abuelo.” I say and he nods and walks away.

“Okay two things,” I hear Gerard say across from me and I turn to him. “Do you just know everyone here? And also, are you fluent in Spanish or do you just know how to say that?”

I laugh and roll my eyes at him. “Yes, I do know everyone here and I am fluent. I just decided to say the name of the drinks in English so you’ll know what you’re going to be putting in your body.”

“Wow. That’s actually kind of cool. What else don’t I know about you, Iero?” He lifts one eyebrow and takes his hand out of mine to link his together.

“Well,” I retract my hand. “I take a lot of pictures, I play guitar, I live with my mom, um let’s see. I’m kinda short and I want tattoos. I don’t like girls very much which is good because they don’t talk to me anyway. My favorite color is red, math is my worst subject, candy makes up half of my diet… I don’t really know what else really.”

Gerard laughs and brushes his dark hair out of his face.

“What don’t I know about you?”

“Not much, I’m kinda boring. But well let me think. I do a lot of cartooning, I want to die my hair red like a character I made named Party Poison. I love to read comics and listen to music. Uh I’m afraid of needles so as cool as tattoos are I would never be able to get one. I play a little guitar bit not enough to be part of a band or anything. Mikey plays bass and teaches me some sometimes and then I’ll show him stuff on guitar or singing techniques I learned from my vocal coach. But yeah that’s basically it.”

“You’re awesome, believe me.” I tell him as the waiter comes back and sets the bottles of Mexican soda in front of us.

“I’m guessing you want your usual, Frank.” He says and then turns to Gerard. “ What would you like, sir?”

“Oh um, can I have uh-“ He lifts up his menu to quickly look through it, his face turning red as he mumbles incoherently.

“He’ll have the same thing as me but with chicken.” I tell him and my date stops talking and just smiles at me gratefully.

“Gracias, viente minutos.” The waiter says, taking the menus from us and leaving once more.

I link my hands with Gerard’s across the table and gaze at him as he tries to make his blush less obvious by looking down at the wooden piece of furniture. I play with his fingers between mine and pinch his thumb, making his hazel eyes meet my own.

“Thanks, I kind of forgot to look at the menu.” He says, biting his lip as he starts smiling. “But what exactly will I be eating tonight?”

“Enchiladas Mole.” I take my hands out of his and lean back, linking them together behind my head. “It’s three enchiladas with this Mexican sauce made with cocoa. It’s absolutely delicious, believe me.”

“Sounds it. Oh but what do you get in it if you asked for chicken in mine?”

“Well I’m a vegetarian,” Gerard raises his eyebrows at that. “So I just get peppers and onions in it. But hey what’s up with the eyebrows there?” I point at him and give him a look that practically screams “fight me”.

“Oh it’s just that I never would have thought you would be a vegetarian. I mean I just don’t get why anyone would want to be one anyway.”

“Maybe because of how they raise and slaughter the animals?” I tell him, a sassy hint to my voice. “Or possibly because humans weren’t even supposed to eat meat in the first place because our digestion system isn’t made for it.”

“Okay, okay.” He raises his hands in front of him as if to say he surrenders. “Sorry princess I didn’t realize you cared so much.”

I feel butterflies beat their wings inside my stomach when he calls me princess but I manage to keep a threatening face on until he sticks both his middle fingers up at me and I burst out laughing as he wiggles his eyebrows.

I grab the glass bottle in front of me and take a swig of the lime soda with a smile as Gee does across from me.

“You know,” He starts, running the pad of his forefinger around the rim of the bottle. “I’m really glad you asked me to come tonight, I was pretty sure you weren’t going to because you didn’t seem to be hinting or anything but look at us now!”

“Well of course I was going to ask you Gee, I mean I was so obviously crushing on you that everyone else could tell in our class. Even the freshman started drawing us making out for their projects and Mrs. Ray accepted it because she shipped us so hard.”

Gerard almost spits out the soda he had just sipped at that, laughing loudly once he finishes swallowing it.

“No fucking way.”

“Yep,” I grin. “I saw it.”

“Shit.” His eyes widen. “Please tell me we were wearing clothes.”

“No shirts but otherwise we were decent.” I laugh at his horrified expression, reaching across and grabbing his hand. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Ray isn’t putting any of that in the art show.”

“For some reason I doubt that…”

Thirty minutes later we’re almost done with our food and Gerard is practically having an orgasm across from me because of the mole sauce.

“Oh my god,” He moans, digging his fork into his rice. “This is so damn good.”

“I know, Gee. But can you please stop getting off on the food, we’re in the middle of a restaurant.” I say in a sickeningly sweet voice, talking to him like he’s a kindergartener learning his ABC’s.

He blushes and whips his head around, trying to see if anyone had been watching him.

“Don’t worry, no one was looking. Or well one girl was staring at you like she desperately wanted to get in your pants so that’s why I kissed your hand earlier. She stopped right then and I flipped her off under the table.”

“Wow Frankie, so protective. I’ll never be able to go anywhere if I’m dating you.”

“Does that mean your considering dating me?” I smirk at him and he sends one back at me.

“Possibly, we’ll have to see how good you are tonight, babe.”

Gerard winks at me as the waiter sets the check down in front of me and I pull out thirty dollars before Gee has any time to protest me paying for the meal. I hand the man my money and he leaves to take care of the bill.

“You little fucker. I have money.” Gerard growls, glaring at me.

“Oh I know, that’s why I was not just a little fucker but a quick little fucker.” I wink at him and he groans, grabbing his jacket and pulling it on over his broad shoulders.

“Gracias, Frank. Have fun tonight.” The old man comes back with my change and I give him a smile while pocketing it.

“You too, Pablo. I’ll see you next time. Buenos noches.” Gerard and I get up and I put my blazer on over my button up and take his hand, taking him out of the restaurant.

“Let’s go have the time of our lives.”

We arrive at the school gymnasium at 9:15 and there are already people dancing in the middle of the copiously decorated room. Gerard and I decide to walk in as a couple and not try to hide it at all; we won’t let any of the homophobes ruin this night for us. But now that we’re finally here I can feel the sweat on his palm as people look over at us and spot our linked hands.

I pull him over to the corner of the gym quickly and we stand in the unoccupied area, looking around at everyone and everything. There are red and pink streamers hanging off the walls everywhere, the same color balloons at the ends of each strip. The student council built a stage at the front of the large room and there’s a DJ playing shitty music using a set of turntables and speakers that I’m surprised the senior class has enough in the budget for. At least fifty people are already dancing or really just swaying to the Top 40 music that I don’t know at all and there’s a long refreshments table on the far side of the gymnasium across from us where there’s (most likely spiked) punch and a shit load of heart shaped cupcakes.

“So do you wanna have a drink or something?” He asks me in a nervous voice.

“Yeah,” He lets go of my hand and starts to walk away but I grab his shoulders before he can get past me. “But first, I want to make something clear.”

He looks at me nervously, biting his lip. I lift my hands so they’re cupping his cheeks and I go up on my tiptoes and press my lips against his forehead. When I look up at him after getting off my toes I see him smiling and blushing adorably.

“I don’t care what they say about us, and neither should you. I truly believe I love you and I will not allow them to shame us into leaving. Because you know what, Gee?”

“What?”

“No one here is more deserving of a wonderful Valentine’s Day than you.”

Suddenly his lips are capturing mine and his arms are wrapped around my waist, hands resting on the small of my back. I tilt my head and mold my lips with his as I place my hands on his hips. He walks me backwards into the wall and I smile as he bites my lip gently. We only pull away when we hear a squeal from beside us and see Mrs. Ray in a knee length tank top dress with a green dragon breathing fire embroidered down the black side. She’s hopping up and down in her dark green heels and her hair is bouncing against her pale shoulder in an intricate braid.

“Sorry, sorry you’re just so cute oh god, sorry I’ll go.” She jumbles her words and then scurries away to the other side of the room.

I watch her go as Gee stands next to me with a red face and hands fumbling with the button on his shirt. I look over at him after seeing our teacher turn around and give me a thumbs up from thirty feet away. He glances over at me and I smile at him, grabbing his shaking hands.

“Gee.” I say quietly, rubbing my thumb across the back of his hand. “Are you okay?”

He nods and looks at me with soft eyes that I absolutely melt into, resting my free hand on his chest.

“Do you promise?”

He release my hand and places both of them on my waist lightly, not breaking eye contact.

“Yes.” He leans down and kisses my cheek with a smile. “Now I’m gonna go get the booze punch and grab a cupcake because no matter how terribly cheesy they are they’re most likely packed with sugar that I really want right now.”

He walks off and I sigh, leaning against the wall with my hands in my pants pockets. I look down at the ground, the fact that I just made out with Gerard right in the middle of the school gymnasium where anyone could have seen finally sinking in. I feel a blush grow on my cheeks when suddenly I jump as someone touches my arm.

“Oh I’m sorry!” Mrs. Ray says, a smile on her face. “I just wanted to tell you congratulations, dear.”

I roll my eyes at her and let a grin creep its way onto my face under her caring gaze.

“Thank you, he just makes me really happy.” I look down at the ground, embarrassed that I’m admitting my feelings to my teacher of all people.

“I can tell. Now I better go before he gets back here or he might kill me.” She says, squeezing my shoulder comfortingly before leaving.

A few moments later Gerard arrives next to me with two cupcakes and a plastic cup of punch squished between them. I grab the drink and take a sip as my date hands me an artificially colored red cupcake with a conversation heart on top telling me to hug someone. I start licking the icing off the top and give the cup to Gee who drinks out of it with a smile.

“Oh wow, this is definitely spiked.” He says, his face screwed up a bit.

“Yep, I knew it would be.” I tell him, taking a bite of the cake in my hand.

“Okay then Mr. I Know Everything.” Gerard rolls his eyes and me and flashes a smile in my direction before eating a hunk of his cupcake as well.

I watch my classmates in front of me carefully, see every terrible dance move a slightly popular douchbag does, every quick kiss the lesbian couple on the other side of the gym share, every twisted ankle gained by a girl in ridiculously tall stilettos. I won’t ever understand why heels are seen as sexy; they’re obviously just fucking deathtraps. Everyone seems to be either drunk or bored as they move around like one giant organism on the dance floor and I can’t say I don’t find it amusing when the football captain pukes on his date’s dress right in front of me.

“Holy shit, Frank! Did you see that?” Gerard exclaims, elbowing my side as the girl runs off to the bathrooms, her date passed out in the middle of the floor.

“Yeah, Jesus Christ. Do you promise not to puke on my dress tonight, Gerard Way?” I run my hand down my side. “I mean it’s just so beautiful and I don’t think I could take it if I had to go up and get my Valentine Queen crown with upchuck down my front.”

“Oh of course not, dear.” He says, laughing at me and grabbing my hips with a smile. “I would never.”

I smile up at him as piano and violins come out of the speakers beside us. I back up and reach my hand out, palm up.

“May I have this dance my good sir?” I ask in a faked British accent.

“Of course you may.” Gerard says, taking my hand after fucking curtsying. He’s so cute I don’t know if I’ll be able to take it.

I pull him over to the edge of the dance floor where all the girls have already wrapped their arms around their boyfriend’s necks and the guys have started copping a feel as much as they can, already ready for the sex that will most likely occur after this.

I feel his hands on my hips and I bring my hands up to link behind his neck, gazing into his beautiful golden brown eyes that I want to look at me the way they are now for the rest of time. I rest my cheek against his chest and sway my hips with him, closing my eyes and his hands move to rub my lower back.

And in this moment I feel like the happiest person in all of history.

We decide to leave the dance a half an hour early and just sit in my car. I hold his hand in mine and we listen to Misfits as Gee places little kisses on my hand and wrist.

“I love you, Frankie. I’ve decided I love you.” He tells me quietly, continuing to play with my fingers and place soft kisses on the back of my pale hand. “I decided I wanted you to know too.”

“Oh Gee,” I sigh and look over at him and he slips his fingers between mine. “I love you too. I love you so much.”

His lips part and slowly form a smile.

“Good.”

He pulls on my hand and I lean over to meet his lips with mine in the space between the front seats, his mouth warm and soft again mine. I pull away after a moment and he tugs on my hand again. I furrow my eyebrows and tip my head to the side, looking into his eyes.

“Sit in my lap. It’ll make this easier, dear.” He says in a soft voice as if he’s afraid his normal voice will break me. “Come on, honey.”

I give him a soft smile before climbing over to him, sitting down so I can lean my right side against his chest and slowly trail kisses down his vampire pale neck.

“Like this?” I look up to see him staring down at me like I’m the last diamond on Earth or something. “What is it?”

“You’re,” He brushes my black fringe further to the side of my forehead gently, his fingers ghosting across my skin. “You’re just so beautiful.”

“Not as beautiful as you.” I say, hiding my blush in his neck as I unbutton the top button of his shirt and pull his collar back, nipping at the revealed skin immediately above his collarbone. “Not nearly.”

His lips part with a sigh as I suck on the small area of delicate skin. “No Frankie, you’ll always be so much more beautiful.” He protests, just barely able to with me creating the hickie on his neck. He lets out a soft moan as I take his skin between my teeth and bite down, the purple bruise already starting to show clearly against his normally snow white skin.

“Whatever you say dear.” I say quietly as I finish the mark with a last couple of bites and sucks on his body.

Once I’m satisfied with the mess he’s become and how the bruise on his neck looks I straighten his collar out and button his button again before looking up at him innocently.

“You little fucker.” He whispers at me before pulling me up for a kiss that I easily give into. I would be an idiot not to with what he can do with his lips and teeth, he’s already gotten me addicted to his taste after one night.

“Definitely.”

I drive Gerard home once everyone starts leaving, him singing along to Mr. Brightside as it comes out of my phone on the dashboard. I smile as I hear his voice, pleasantly surprised by the beauty of it.

“You know you’re really amazing, right?” I say, apparently startling him as his eyes snap open and he jumps in his seat.

“Oh, I guess. Thank you.” He blushes and fumbles with the buttons on his shirt like before. It must be a nervous habit.

“You did say you had a vocal coach, right?”

“Yeah, I stopped last year though because she decided I didn’t need her anymore. I kind of miss the lessons though, she was a really awesome person and she helped me a lot too.”

“Well it sounds like she couldn’t help you anymore though which is pretty fucking amazing considering how professional singers still have coach during their careers.” I say to him, taking my eyes off the road for a moment to look at him to make sure he knows I mean it.

“Thank you.”

I pull into his driveway and look over at him as I pull the key out of the ignition. He smiles at me and I look away to push my door open. He does the same and I open the door to the backseat and grab my Polaroid as I’ll just store the pictures from earlier in a pouch I attached to the back a few years ago. He comes over and grabs my hand, pressing a kiss against my temple and then starts toward his front door.

He takes a key out of his pocket and unlocks the mahogany door. He steps inside and I follow him into the living room where the now developed Polaroids are, showing us together and happy earlier tonight.

“Look, Gee.” I whisper to him and hold up the photos for him to see. He walks over to me and smiles, looking at the picture.

“That looks awesome, dear.”

“Thank you, it’s only because of you being so pretty though.” I turn around to face him and wrap my arms around his neck like I did when we danced earlier.

“More like because of yours, Frankie.” He puts his hands on my hips and I brush my nose against his, my nose ring moving against his skin as I go up on my tiptoes.

“Whatever you say, Gee. Only I know the truth though.”

I lean in and kiss him softly, my head spinning just at the fact that I, Frank Anthony Iero am actually kissing Gerard. That I’m the only person lucky enough to in his arms at this moment, my top lip sliding between his slowly. And only the flash from beside me that I see through my eyelids can bring me out of my thoughts and stop the kiss from going on until my life ends.

So I pull away from Gerard and drop down flat onto my feet as his mother babbles about how cute we are and how great the picture she just took with my Polaroid will be. But I barely hear her because in that moment he says the one thing that could make this night better.

“Boyfriends?”

“Boyfriends.”


End file.
